The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with a Chinese technology company to provide 2000 Information and Communication Technology, ICT trainee jobs to young Nigerians in 2016 under the “Huawei’s Seeds for the Future program.”
The Federal Government was represented at the signing of the MOU by the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige and Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, while Mr. Richard Cao, the Vice President of Huawei West Africa signed for the Chinese Information Communication and technology firm. Chinese Ambassador Mr. Gu Xiaojie witnessed the occasion at the presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
According to Osinbajo, “ICT is one of the quickest ways people can get decent jobs, so we think this is absolutely important.”
He further said that the Programme was part of the change agenda of the president Mohammadu Bihari’s administration to create jobs for the youth.
“In the change agenda, how to grow the economy is important, and we want to create ICT hubs and support existing ones. We thank Huawei for this initiative of advancing technology in Nigeria, apart from the job creation itself”, he said.
Osinbajo revealed that in the face of the current poor rating of Nigeria in the global rankings of business environments, president Buhari has already given the Trade, Industry & Investment Minister the task of addressing the challenges of doing business in the country.
He remarked that the relationship between Nigeria and China is a strategic one, urging Chinese investors and business leaders to consider Nigeria for manufacturing plants.
He said the Chinese investors “should encourage not just the selling, but also the manufacturing of products in Nigeria.”
Speaking at the event, the Chinese Ambassador,Xiaojie, stated that China was in partnership with the Buhari presidency in the “change” agenda, especially in areas like Agricultural modernization, industrialization, infrastructure, trade and investment, poverty alleviation, and peace and security among others.